About

Above: The Hand, Main Tool in Fernando´s workshop

Opposite: old Japanese Brother DB2 series single stitching machine string along with the manual sewing to insure the resistance of the garment at certain points.

ABOUT FERNANDO

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Fernando Garcia de la Calera, born in Madrid (1983), his career in the fashion/style business begins in 2007 with the creation of The Concrete Company Madrid, which at the time is an extension of his hobbies, his passions and his curiosity. Very close to the skateboarding community, he then designs for t-shirts and boards.

In 2008, the crisis hits Spain and Fernando has to reinvent himself. Interested in traditional tailoring, he decides to learn the craft and adapt it to his own world. That's how his concept of rugged tailoring sees the light: bespoke casual clothes strong on wearability and durability. He opens his own tailor workshop in the center of Madrid in 2012.

THE WORKSHOP

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Fernando's work is specialised in denim. He aims for quality and exclusivity of the clothes he makes. As a traditional tailor, he works by appointment only and he creates a garment that answers to both the taste and the necessities of his customers.

All clothes are of course cut with scissors, made especially for this costumer and it is unique.

When using a sewing machines he uses ones from the 50's and 70's (simple stitch). Majority of the work is done by hand though.

THE PRODUCT

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It is 100% craftsmanship, made in Spain by nobody else than Fernando himself.

Personal designs, personal details, durability and quality fabrics are amongst the things that make this product a different, original and authentic one.

Made for both an elegant evening out and work, they are thought to be durable.

Fernando also dyes some of his fabrics naturally.

So that every fabric used is not only of quality, it's also completely unique.

The result is sometimes an unequal color, that has to be seen not as an imperfection, but as the beauty of an alive art. After it's made, the product will have its own life, depending on the use and the treatment you will give it.

THE FABRICS

The main inspiration is denim and so of course workwear: chambray, herringbone, sarga (cotton and wool) and duck canvas are amongst the basics of Fernando's work.

Along the way, Fernando includes some other traditional fabrics made with natural cloth such as cotton, wool, linen and leather, allowing the client a more extensive choice to make his garment.

All those fabrics have to comply with the The Concrete touch: it has to fit in the informality of Fernando's style, it has to be a quality fabric, coming from a craftsmanship and of course it has to be somehow different, original and authentic.

Cape made of Spanish calfskin and U.S.A. Pendleton Wool.

NATURAL DYEING

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Dying is made 100% by hand and out of plants and seeds.

For the jeans, organic indigo is used as it is the stronger and more precise dye there is. It comes from India (Fernando imports it directly from there), where it is extracted from the sprouts of the Indigo plant. The liquid is naturally colorless. Only once it is mixed with a special enzyme does it get this very specific color.

Other dye are for example a mix of both coffee and curry to get a special kind of brown (which does not come out equally on every cloth) that he can make clearer or darker depending on what the client wants.

The dying is fixed with salt, and the garment is always delivered washed to avoid shrinking and discoloring. This obviously doesn't apply to unwashable fabrics such as leather or raw fabric (unwashed fabric fresh out of the factory, rigid and sanforized).

Indigofera tinctoiria ( natural indigo powder dyeing process).

THE PURISM

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Purism is an important part of what drives Fernando.

Purism is what could characterize France in the 20's: a mix between daring the laws and what was considered to be socially acceptable and the elegance with which comfortable handmade - sown with the utmost care - clothes were worn.

Purism is an art, a way of life, a moral and an aesthetic.

So therefore making for himself as many things as could or in defect search for best artisanal products to supply with.

Traditional techniques

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By growing in a DIY ambiance Fernando´s obsesses to traditional tailoring techniques applied to his personal choices.

SUSTAINABILITY

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As you know, bespoke garments in general and Fernando's in particular do not work based on seasons or what the market asks and wants.

It is a exchange of wills of both the customer and Fernando. The idea is to have and develop a point of view and to have something to say.

Ethic and ecologic fashion is at the heart of this process. It's about buying less and buying durability, with an atemporal design, attached to each individual personality. it's about being yourself, being honest with the production and fair in the buying.

LIFE STYLE

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Continuous worldwide seek for further incorporating different natural fabrics, expanding a wide variety of options for the customer when choosing your garment and constant search for passionated artisans in search for inspiration and the perfect functional but elevated to something else product, creating a true soul garment.

Also trunk shows and Madrid city life style were the main studio for appointments is located, is enough dynamic, somain creation workshop is in Mallorca were Fernando´s feels more relaxed for the commitment, surrounded by nature, peace and love from his wife and dogs.

Fernando is being working exclusively for bespoke clients in his tailoring shop in Madrid since 2012. In 2016 he launches TheConcreteSoulMade, an online shop where he gives freedom to creativity by making his own designs with the same artisanl work premises.

BESPOKE ORDERS

VIA TRUNK SHOWS

OR IN MADRID STUDIO

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MTO

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RTW CAPSULE COLLECTIONS

The Concrete Company Madrid only manufacturing when and order is place or in new design developement, no stock is done “unless someone asks” in any of Fernando´s designs as part of sustainable and exclusivity values. Now accepting orders outside his studio, making a world wide selection of partners to commission on bespoke clients, or by making exclusive MTO / RTW capsule collections for each partner.